iPad faulty after being in repair shop

[JoshC]

Oh font of all knowledge....

Had a small crack on one side of my iPad mini screen. Took it to a place back up the Rhondda (Porth Mobile Zone on Hannah Street) as they could do it slightly cheaper than others, they were recommended by a few friends but most importantly because they could fix it on the same day before I went on holidays the next day.

 

It was working fine before leaving the shop and looked great. No accidents at all with it and the next time I picked it up was in Gatwick airport and there were random lines all over the LCD display which were flickering. Since then these have changed and are now just single block columns that are kind of faded down the screen perfectly in line with the app icons (mentioned as it seems a bit odd). I called them straight away before going on holidays for a month so they were aware and they said fine, bring it back when you can.

 

Went there today and they completely washed their hands of it and their argument is that I could have weakened the LCD layer when I dropped it initially and its not their fault if it worsened the damage while they were replacing the top glass layer. I argued that's their responsibility as I paid them to fix the fault any damage that surfaces in the mean time is at their own risk.

 

Now I expect the answer to be that I have no come back as I left the shop with it but does anyone think otherwise? In my eyes the nature of the lines on the screen doesn't suggest random damage from a drop i.e. dead pixels etc but possibly that the top layer has been resealed too tightly maybe and it's pressing too hard on the LCD? If I had someone else to repair it and they discovered that was true could I argue a refund from them?

 

Another note which I only really noticed after the repair is that the home button is a bit lose and doesn't feel right to click. No visual/physical damage to the unit at all, its always been kept in a case and then a padded sleeve outside the house and as the glass screen is brand new from them the whole unit looks brand new and no damage at all to suggest I dropped it after leaving there.

 

Any advice anyone or do I have no comeback really?

[Ekona]

There's the right answer, and the real world answer.

 

 

The right answer is that they should've warned you about any other issues there may have been following the original repair, and the fact they didn't and that it's now more broken means they should take responsibility for that.

 

The real world answer caveats that with the fact they may technically be right, and that they did do what you asked them to (replace the cracked screen, I assume) and you could've dropped it again after you picked it up. Did you test it in front of them in the shop? Was that even an option? You could argue in court that you deserve a refund if the screen has been fitted incorrectly, but there's no guarantee that you'd win as I suspect they'll bluff their way through with technobabble and leave you nowhere to go. I would, if I were them.

 

Take it somewhere else, see what they say and if it's fixable, and then get it done there. Write the other lot off as a bad experience and tell as many folks as you can, IF it's proven it was their fault. I suspect they get a lot of people coming back in with these 'issues' that have developed again, so they're just arguing their corner to avoid being taken advantage of.

 

 

It's not the answer you want to hear, but if I'm honest I don't think I'd waste my time arguing it. Maybe go back in once more, be really nice and then if they still don't budge stand outside all day and show/tell everyone who walks in what they did

[JoshC]

Cheers Dan! Yeah I suspect you are right. I wouldn't bother taking it through small claims court or anything like that as it's not worth the fuss and like you say they could just argue that I damaged it since leaving the shop.

 

I think you are right though that they should have warned me about potential damage to other components, so maybe I could use that as an argument in any further interactions with them.

 

I think my only real chance of a refund here is that a different repair shop, maybe with a bigger/more professional reputation might be able to take a look for me and in taking it apart if they can see that it was fitted back together incorrectly (i.e. a lose connection or screen too tightly resleaed) and they captured evidence of that then I would definitely have a case to take back to them and maybe a short solicitors letter evidencing that would scare them. Difficult to prove though I would guess and maybe not even the case here.

 

Won't let it go just yet though anyway as I'm more pee'd off with them about terrible professionalism than anything else!

[sipar69]

It sucks when you feel like you've been ripped off and that's how I'd feel if I'd taken it in with one fault only to get back it back with a different fault.

 

Their response sounds BS to me, but, as said, the issue is whether it's worth the hassle of following through all the way. I agree that the best approach is to try another visit. You could ask to speak to the owner, start off diplomatically, lay it on thick that you could really do without the expense of another repair job/replacement, and perhaps drop in that you have friends with IPads/iPhones who you would have been happy to recommend the shop to if you'd been happy with their service.

 

If they still won't budge, you could mention that you'll be speaking to local Trading Standards etc. They might give in just to get you out of the the shop.

 

Small claims is a fairly straightforward process and in civil cases you don't have to prove a case, just convince a (very junior) judge that your version of events is the most likely one. The sight of a summons is enough to get a result in many cases. If the shop didn't respond to it, you'd get judgement by default without a hearing. I'm not recommending this course of action though - it's time consuming and there's no guarantee you'd get your money back even if you got the judgement (it would knacker their credit though).

 

Personally, I'd try the diplomatic approach to the shop. If that fails, treat it as a lesson and move on.

Edited June 17, 2015 by sipar69

[Toon Chris]

You asked them to replace the glass screen and they did just that. The LCD under the screen and the rest of the gubbins in the iPad were not on the menu i.e. did you ask them to check it over and see if anything else was wrong or did you only ask them to replace the glass? Unless they were very cack-handed I'd say what you are seeing is a result of the original drop, or certainly it can be argued either way.

 

Its not fair to the shop to say you have been ripped off. They have done what you asked, neither of you saw any fault when they returned the iPad to you. Coming back into the shop weeks later is of no help as they have no idea what you have done in the intervening time and no technical reason to expect its anything to do with the work they did. Yes they could try to be customer friendly but in doing so may have to stand costs of hundreds of pounds, and your trade simply won't be worth that too them. You may feel aggrieved but the lesson is a) don't drop it and use specialists for a specialist job.

 

There is one 'however' here. The home button being loose is as a result of their work so they should have been up front about that and offer to sort that bit out.

Edited June 17, 2015 by Toon Chris

[JoshC]

It sucks when you feel like you've been ripped off and that's how I'd feel if I'd taken it in with one fault only to get back it back with a different fault.

 

Their response sounds BS to me, but, as said, the issue is whether it's worth the hassle of following through all the way. I agree that the best approach is to try another visit. You could ask to speak to the owner, start off diplomatically, lay it on thick that you could really do without the expense of another repair job/replacement, and perhaps drop in that you have friends with IPads/iPhones who you would have been happy to recommend the shop to if you'd been happy with their service.

 

If they still won't budge, you could mention that you'll be speaking to local Trading Standards etc. They might give in just to get you out of the the shop.

 

Small claims is a fairly straightforward process and in civil cases you don't have to prove a case, just convince a (very junior) judge that your version of events is the most likely one. The sight of a summons is enough to get a result in many cases. If the shop didn't respond to it, you'd get judgement by default without a hearing. I'm not recommending this course of action though - it's time consuming and there's no guarantee you'd get your money back even if you got the judgement (it would knacker their credit though).

 

Personally, I'd try the diplomatic approach to the shop. If that fails, treat it as a lesson and move on.

 

Cheers Sipar! Yeah I agree that the excuse is rubbish and I'm sure they know that themselves but they also know they have an out by blaming it on me. I think a more respectable company would probably just agree that it was thier fault and offer to at least take a look at it for me. I started out very pleasent when speaking to them but the gyu in there was getting more and more irrate and rude and causing me to do the same, although I will go back again and try to deal with it diplomatically.

 

If that doesn't get me anywhere I think I might be tempted to speak to my old man's friend who is a partner in a law firm to see if he could send them a quick letter just threatening legal action and hopefully scare them into doing something.

 

Will see what happens when I nect speak to them first though.

[JoshC]

You asked them to replace the glass screen and they did just that. The LCD under the screen and the rest of the gubbins in the iPad were not on the menu i.e. did you ask them to check it over and see if anything else was wrong or did you only ask them to replace the glass? Unless they were very cack-handed I'd say what you are seeing is a result of the original drop, or certainly it can be argued either way.

 

Its not fair to the shop to say you have been ripped off. They have done what you asked, neither of you saw any fault when they returned the iPad to you. Coming back into the shop weeks later is of no help as they have no idea what you have done in the intervening time and no technical reason to expect its anything to do with the work they did. Yes they could try to be customer friendly but in doing so may have to stand costs of hundreds of pounds, and your trade simply won't be worth that too them. You may feel aggrieved but the lesson is a) don't drop it and use specialists for a specialist job.

 

There is one 'however' here. The home button being loose is as a result of their work so they should have been up front about that and offer to sort that bit out.

 

You say that but it's like taking your car to have an engine fixed, which they do, and it comes back with a knackered gear box! The crack in the screen was quite small so I could see that the enitre display had no issues what so ever and was fucntioning fine, therefore I didn't feel the need to ask them to check it over as I know they are seperate pieces.

 

I know that I haven't damaged it myself since getting it back but of course can't prove that so there lies their best argument against me. However to my untrained eyes I suspect that it may be possible that the iPad has been out back together improperly, i.e. lose connectors or screen resealed too tightly. Especially being as the home button is lose and have now found that the smart cover unlock function no longer works with it, which I did actually ask them about before having it done.

 

I'm thinking these 2 things may be my best argument that the job clearly wasn't done very well.

[JoshC]

Spoke to the shop again over the phone today (as I can't easily go there in person during the week) and I was perfectly civilised but he didn't want to know anything about it and even started playing dumb about the ipad smart cover feature which apparently he knows nothing about. He then said that he won't discuss it over the phone and that I have to come in when the manager is around but he won't tell me when that is. I finished the phone call by saying expect a letter from myself and my solicitor and that i wasn't going to let them off with it.

 

Then I spoke to Trading Standards and they say I definitely have a case, particurlaly if I can take it to another repair shop who can put it in writing that it was repaired poorly and not re-assembled correctly. If I can do this then basically under the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 I am enitled to either a free repair or reimbursed damages for whatever it costs for someone else to put it right.

 

Think i will start by going to a different local repair shop who have a very good reputation and seem far more professional (couldn't use these at the time of repairing mine sadly) and asking them if they can look at it and if it's worth me paying them to fix it and hopefully finding evidence of faulty repairs.

[sipar69]

You asked them to replace the glass screen and they did just that. The LCD under the screen and the rest of the gubbins in the iPad were not on the menu i.e. did you ask them to check it over and see if anything else was wrong or did you only ask them to replace the glass? Unless they were very cack-handed I'd say what you are seeing is a result of the original drop, or certainly it can be argued either way.

 

Its not fair to the shop to say you have been ripped off. They have done what you asked, neither of you saw any fault when they returned the iPad to you. Coming back into the shop weeks later is of no help as they have no idea what you have done in the intervening time and no technical reason to expect its anything to do with the work they did. Yes they could try to be customer friendly but in doing so may have to stand costs of hundreds of pounds, and your trade simply won't be worth that too them. You may feel aggrieved but the lesson is a) don't drop it and use specialists for a specialist job.

 

There is one 'however' here. The home button being loose is as a result of their work so they should have been up front about that and offer to sort that bit out.

 

If the fault he is describing wasn't there until after he picked it up then it's logical to assume it was caused by the shop. I agree it would be impossible to prove it and the best thing to have done would have been to check before he left the shop, but if we assume he's not making this up (which seems very unlikely to me) it's not unreasonable of him to try and get some restitution from them.

[JoshC]

You asked them to replace the glass screen and they did just that. The LCD under the screen and the rest of the gubbins in the iPad were not on the menu i.e. did you ask them to check it over and see if anything else was wrong or did you only ask them to replace the glass? Unless they were very cack-handed I'd say what you are seeing is a result of the original drop, or certainly it can be argued either way.

 

Its not fair to the shop to say you have been ripped off. They have done what you asked, neither of you saw any fault when they returned the iPad to you. Coming back into the shop weeks later is of no help as they have no idea what you have done in the intervening time and no technical reason to expect its anything to do with the work they did. Yes they could try to be customer friendly but in doing so may have to stand costs of hundreds of pounds, and your trade simply won't be worth that too them. You may feel aggrieved but the lesson is a) don't drop it and use specialists for a specialist job.

 

There is one 'however' here. The home button being loose is as a result of their work so they should have been up front about that and offer to sort that bit out.

 

If the fault he is describing wasn't there until after he picked it up then it's logical to assume it was caused by the shop. I agree it would be impossible to prove it and the best thing to have done would have been to check before he left the shop, but if we assume he's not making this up (which seems very unlikely to me) it's not unreasonable of him to try and get some restitution from them.

 

Yeah, I'm 100% certain in my head that they have caused the problem and actually its worse now than it was before. I wouldn't be so annoyed and determined to get a result from this if the guy was reasonable and offered a compromise to fix it or something but he is completely ignorant and full of lies.

 

Anyway, I've now spoken to the other local repair place in Cardiff who have firstly agreed with me that his reaons for the damge sound like BS as they said but have also said for £10 they will take it apart, diagnose and give mea quote on headed paper and they're professional opinion if it is indeed the case that they believe the damage was caused during the repair. If I do get something like that from them then according to what trading standards have said to me I am entitled to 'damages' from them to cover any further repair or replacement costs. From what I told them over the phone the second repair shop say it sounds like a damaged connector that was quick fixed with maybe some tape to make it look okay when leaving the shop or even the motherboard may be damaged, in which case the whole thing is ruined.

 

So will see where we can go once I have it diagnosed

[Toon Chris]

You asked them to replace the glass screen and they did just that. The LCD under the screen and the rest of the gubbins in the iPad were not on the menu i.e. did you ask them to check it over and see if anything else was wrong or did you only ask them to replace the glass? Unless they were very cack-handed I'd say what you are seeing is a result of the original drop, or certainly it can be argued either way.

 

Its not fair to the shop to say you have been ripped off. They have done what you asked, neither of you saw any fault when they returned the iPad to you. Coming back into the shop weeks later is of no help as they have no idea what you have done in the intervening time and no technical reason to expect its anything to do with the work they did. Yes they could try to be customer friendly but in doing so may have to stand costs of hundreds of pounds, and your trade simply won't be worth that too them. You may feel aggrieved but the lesson is a) don't drop it and use specialists for a specialist job.

 

There is one 'however' here. The home button being loose is as a result of their work so they should have been up front about that and offer to sort that bit out.

 

If the fault he is describing wasn't there until after he picked it up then it's logical to assume it was caused by the shop. I agree it would be impossible to prove it and the best thing to have done would have been to check before he left the shop, but if we assume he's not making this up (which seems very unlikely to me) it's not unreasonable of him to try and get some restitution from them.

 

Yeah, I'm 100% certain in my head that they have caused the problem and actually its worse now than it was before. I wouldn't be so annoyed and determined to get a result from this if the guy was reasonable and offered a compromise to fix it or something but he is completely ignorant and full of lies.

 

Anyway, I've now spoken to the other local repair place in Cardiff who have firstly agreed with me that his reaons for the damge sound like BS as they said but have also said for £10 they will take it apart, diagnose and give mea quote on headed paper and they're professional opinion if it is indeed the case that they believe the damage was caused during the repair. If I do get something like that from them then according to what trading standards have said to me I am entitled to 'damages' from them to cover any further repair or replacement costs. From what I told them over the phone the second repair shop say it sounds like a damaged connector that was quick fixed with maybe some tape to make it look okay when leaving the shop or even the motherboard may be damaged, in which case the whole thing is ruined.

 

So will see where we can go once I have it diagnosed

I think that's the best option all round. If you have found more problems and think its a bodge job then another specialist can tell you. If they say yes - which is starting to sound likely now the list of faults is growing - you have a case, if they say no then at least it gets fixed properly.

 

I don't doubt your honesty, but as a trader myself I often get people assuming that any problem immediately means I'm trying to rip them off and am some sort of high-street bandit. In this case though you have approached your guy politley and they aren't even interested in helping, which smells off to me.

[JoshC]

Yeah exactly Chris, initially I was happy to come to some sort of compromise, maybe he could have agreed to take a look at it at least and offer me a discounted price to fix, maybe meet half way but the way he's just been so ignorant and washed his hands of it has just angered me more!

 

Not planning to speak to him again, will only be through formal letters now and if it comes to it (particularly if my iPad is a write off) speak to a friend who works at a solicitors to see if he can send him a copy of any quote from the second repair place along with an official solicitors letter!

 

See how it goes

[J4M3S]

Sounds like a connector hasn't been properly seated from the screen to the board, have had this with iphones. very easy job for the shop if it is this as its just a case of releasing the connector and re seating it properly.

[glrnet]

This^

[JoshC]

Sounds like a connector hasn't been properly seated from the screen to the board, have had this with iphones. very easy job for the shop if it is this as its just a case of releasing the connector and re seating it properly.

 

That sounds promising then! Hopefully that's what they'll find when I drop it off to the second repair shop later on. Cheers